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Saturday, September 22, 2012

This is one of the chapter title from Sister Oki's second book. Such an amazing master piece to read. Not just this chapter, but the whole book is filled with mind blowing contents that will always cause me to pause for a while and think for such a long time. With a very casual and light style of narration, it is amazing how every pages flipped can give endless dose of motivation, and inspiration for your life, gained from the lessons learnt off the others. For every stories told, my thoughts start to kick in action. How can through this reading, makes me a better person and a better 'abid in front of Allah swt?

For this particular chapter, she narrates about a little child who has a big dream. Although it seems to be out of reach due to his family difficulties, this little child continues to smile with enthusiasm and with his high spirit he said: "I am Muhammad Sandi Ramdana Akbar, will become someone BIG (in terms of influence not the size) as big as my name: AKBAR". This is only a little child who is just 12 years old.

That's not all. Remember our brothers and sisters in Palestin? I've came across a story of the a little girl, who was being approached by one of the volunteers from Aqsa Syarif (one of the NGO from Malaysia that helps the Palestinian). She was always seen to be smiling happily. By the look of it, it seems that she is enjoying her life, playing and going to school as if there is no war nor oppression going on. You could never have guessed that her home is constantly shortage of food and water. And you could never see the fear in her eyes, even when knowing that her life is always on the threat of being killed by those ruthless armies. When being asked about her life, she said: "Yes it is hard. Living here is hard. But I believe one day we will be free! and the whole Palestin will be back into our hands! If I don't get to see it, I am happy that I will die as a syuhada' instead!". SubhanAllah...

They have a dream.
A dream that may be too far to reach, too huge to hug, too hard to get there.
But they have a dream.
Even by only having a dream, one can see the light and hope in their life.
A dream that gives one motivation to continue to strive, to continue to run, to continue to live life trying hard to reach that dream.
A dream that would never let one's life to be wasted.
Every day and every second is a step closer towards that dream,
Isn't it better if the dream leads to the oasis?
Even though he/she can't swim across it, at least he/she can see it and enjoy the view of it.

Anyone can have a dream.
A dream to have a doctorate and a professor, even though you are currently struggling in your undergrad.
A dream to become a hafiz/hafizah, even though you constantly having a short term memory loss.
A dream to be the best wife or husband, even though your are still single.
A dream to be the best child to towards their parent and the best parent towards their child,
A dream to be the best murabbi towards their mutarabbi.
A dream to be the best student in the whole entire nation, the best teacher towards their students,
and a dream to be the best abid in front of Allah swt.
A dream to have the entire nation become obedient towards Allahs swt.
A dream to meet Allah swt, the creator of the entire universe and the reason of our existence.
A dream to meet Prophet Muhammad saw, the role model that taught us how to lead our life.
A dream to enter the jannah and enjoy all the eternal happiness conceived in it,

Have your own dream.
Because they can't blame you from having a dream.
Have your own dream.
Because a dream will initiate your step to turn them into reality.
Have your own perfect dream.
And strive to turn it into a reality!
A dream that in the end, when we meet Allah swt, we would be able to say:
"Ya Allah, this is my dream. That I strive during my lifetime. And I did for Your sake."
That is a dream.
A real dream.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

How long has it been? too long... More than a month that is. Full of spider webs and dust I think~
Well, it has been a while in fact, and looking at the condition of this blog, it has been left hanging for quite sometimes, and it really needs some new posts to make it alive again.

There are so many things to share, but, due to the time constraint, I refrain myself from updating the blog. Its a pity, I know, but, I'll try my best to share as much as I can, from this insignificant experience of mine.

Today marked 19th of July 2012, if based on the calendar, we will start our tarawikh prayer after isya' and the following day will be our first day of Ramadhan this year. SubhanAllah, may Allah swt allow us to meet His ramadhan, and allow us to enter the race in becoming a better 'abid.

Talking about ramadhan, in an effort of getting enough stamina for the 30 days race, and being istiqamah for the next 11 months, I've searched the internet for a good talk for me to listen to. Alhamdulillah, I've come across an hour (just about) long talk by Ustaz Nouman Ali Khan. It was AMAZING! Totally turn my paradigm and my view on how I should welcome ramadhan into my life, and how we should welcome ramadhan into our life.

I've never thought of a simple ayat, from the surah Al-Baqarah 183-185 can mean so much, and make me understand more about the content of the overall surah Al-Baqarah. Why those ayat are being sent down in such a way and why those ayat were being organized in the middle of the surah like that. And why Allah swt, talk about taqwa all the time in the quran. Not just once or twice, but hundreds of time. Why? and it is funny how Ustaz Nouman make us understand by making a comparison that make so much sense.

Of course, I am in no position to explain this matter further. Try and listen to the talk below. It really worth your time. In the name of Allah, the most beneficent and the most merciful... ^.^,

p/s if you dont have time to listen now, feel free to download the audio version of the talk at the kuliah section on the right side of this blog. May Allah swt bless us always~
p/ss Happy Ramadhan everyone and let us make this Ramadhan as a race that we will never forget, and make us race faster towards Allah swt!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

SubhanAllah, what happened today does worth a lifetime memory. I saw the little ones with heart so pure, like a glass of pure water (which were much cleaner and fresher than Avian water..heh)! ^.^, It was reflected through their clear eyes and smile which were so sweet that I think even a land full sugar and sweets are not enough to illustrate it..heh.

So, today mark the 3rd of June. It is still school holiday, and many will choose to fill the highway, heading to their respective tourist attraction places allocated all around the country. But not these 30 little ones who choose to stay to a few hour of "ijlis bina nukmin sa'ah". SubhanAllah... they were the one chosen by Allah swt to be in the program, and I understand why.

Initially, I thought the program was for them, the input, the presentation, the sharing, the resolution etc, but it was actually them who thought me so many lessons. They were the one who made me understand, they were the one to make me realized and start to appreciate the importance of being a tayyibat if you want your pair to be a tayyibin, and the importance of being a tayyibat for your children if you want your children to be a tayyibat and tayyibin as well. Did you know why? Because anak yang soleh(ah), is (are) the most precious jewel(s) to their parents. As only anak yang soleh who will wait patiently for their parents in front of the heaven... Why? Why would they wait for their parents when the heaven is there in front of them? That's the sweetness of anak-anak soleh. The heart that are so pure, ignorance of the time spent to wait for their parents, as long as they could enter the beautiful heaven together with their loved and beloved ones, who are called ummi/mama/mak/mother/bonda and abi/baba/ayah/daddy~

These are the memories~

Our murabbiah Mck Mah

One of the slots was to write down the little one's idea of a happy family

The little ones~

The second slot... the little ones were busy discussing their role as a child to a family

based on the 10 muwassofat of a muslim

Heh...these little ones are super cute and really smart!

The most senior among the little ones, their acting was amazing!

maybe one day I will upload their video ok? heh

While eating... they were so indulge into their meal..yummy~

heh...I ate with them... talking to them made me smile all the way back home ^.^,

With this, may Allah swt grant them beautiful heaven in the akhirat, insyAllah, and will wait for their parents and family in front of the jannah... amiin (together kite same2 amikan ok! ^.^,

Friday, June 1, 2012

"To Allah swt we belong and to Him we shall return" (Surah Al-Baqarah: 156)

There is a place called home.
A home of which we seek peace and protection.
A home of which we would always turn back to without hesitation
A home of which the memories started to rewind itself again and again.
A home of which is filled with love, and sometimes a little bit of pain.
A home of which could make you smile.
A home of which cause you to travel back from miles and miles.
But this home is temporary,
While the eternal is still waiting with its door wide open,
as it knows the longing this heart feels to enter the eternal home of heaven~

“(Do) parable (residents) who were promised Jannah to those who fear Allah in which there are rivers of water that no change of taste and smell, the rivers of milk that does not change the taste, the rivers of alcohol that delicious taste of the drinker and the rivers of strained honey, and they get in it all kinds of fruits and forgiveness from their Lord, together with the eternal in jahannam and given a drink by boiling water, so cut her intestines?" (Surah Muhammad:15)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

when we are sad, who do we seek comfort to?
when we are in trouble, who do we seek help to?
when we are in deep..deep..deep trouble, who are there to solve it with you?
hurm... our mother? our father? sister and brother? friends? BFF (best friend forever)?
or

when u feel the jealousy of what other people have,
then, think about what Allah swt has given to you,
which others don't have.
there must be a (many) reason(s) why Allah has given u those things,
and didn't give the others~
even if Allah swt did gave those kurnia to us,
have we "bertasbih", "bertahmid" and "beristighfar"?
have we cleansed ourselves and our heart from the arrogance? kibr? the feelings of better from the others?

ever wonder why there are some people who doesn't want us to do good deeds? To spread the good words about our God (Allah) and Rasulullah saw? Well, even in history, these people has been declared war by Allah swt...nauzubillah...
So, are we the people who call people to Allah swt? and call people to perform good deeds? or are we the people who Allah swt has declared war towards?
Surah Al-Lahab will explain everything ^.^, don't forget to refer Tafsir Fizilal/Tafsir Ibn Kathir or other tafsir books with super awesome explanation ^.^,

Friday, March 30, 2012

There was a little boy,
who smile to the mosque's moneybox,
not only once,
but everytime he went there for prayers.
Until one day,
the imam saw this little boy,
it sparked the imam's curiosity.
"Why did you smile to the moneybox my little ones?"
The little boy smile again,
but this time to the imam.
"Because I have no money,
and the only thing that I have to give alms,
is by smiling~"
Isn't smiling is part of sedekah too? ^.^,

[kredit]
even giving food to a stray can is considered as sedekah/alms ^.^,

Give away,
things that you loved the most,
I'm sure you are not at loss (Qs2:267, Qs3:92).
Give away,
things that you have in excess,
while the others are at less (Qs2:261-262).
Give away,
portion of your wealth,
or make use of your good health (Qs2:272).
Give away,
smiles full of sincerity,
eventhough you are in poverty.
Give away,
knowledge that you gain (balighu anni walau an-ayah),
so that the rewards from Allah swt will be like the pouring rain.
Give away,
and continue to give away,
because Allah swt will ask you one day,
"With your wealth, your health and everything that I've given to you,
what have you done with it that brings you nor other close to Me?"

p/s why not start giving out some of your wealth to our friends, brothers and sisters in need in Palestine? Find out more through here: http://www.aqsasyarif.org.my/

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Alhamdulillah, looking at the last post, I haven't been able to write more for this month. For the last few month, I have been very inconsistent in writing up sharing material with all of you readers. I will do better insyAllah in the future. In hoping that the sharing of materials can bring you reader closer towards Allah swt, not further away from Him, insyAllah ^.^,

Talking about sharing of material, last week there has been some sharing session by one of the elderly in a program (actually he was there to officiate the program, but he also gave some intro/opening speech that left me awed ^.^,). In his sharing session, he was making comparison between a fly and a bee. Both insect have wings given by Allah swt in order to seek for food and live their life according to their fitrah (sunnatullah/mother nature). However, differences can be seen in terms of the type of food that both seek for, and the kind of consequences that it can bring to us human being. Let us look at the characteristic of both animal one by one.

-The Fly-
In common situation, people usually hate flies! At most homes, there usually fly repellent tools that looks like a big "sudip", used for crushing this annoying animal. Even at some restaurant or food court there usually a (many) patch(es) of glued sheet that attract the flies and left them badly attached until they die. Why? Because it is believed that flies can cause great harm to us human being. They feed on trashes and waste, dead bodies, good food turn bad, and many other source that is rather disgusting to be discussed here. Adding to their dinner plate, is our dinner plate. They will take the chance to feed on our food and left little souvenirs in form of eggs in exchange ^.^, If we did not realize this and continue to eat that delicious dinner of ours, we have a great chance of getting sick the next day.

Look at those beautiful stripes and amazing work on extracting the nectar [credit]

Different from bees, they feed on beautiful flowers that contain delicious nectar. Everyday they will go around the neighbourhood in search for more beautiful flowers in effort of producing more delicious honey. This also the honey that Winnie The Pooh loves to get his hands on ^.^, and that is no different from us. The honey produced by the bees is harvested by us human beings because of the nutrients that it can provide for our good health.

One of the things that struct me was that, Allah swt has already said in the Al-Quran that us human beings, will actually create a place for the bees to harvest their honey in (the place is commonly known as bee hives). And this has been pointed out more than 1400 years ago! And the reason why the bees do make their honey at that particular place, is because it is a form of obedient towards Allah swt. SubhanAllah~

even at the mustard field, human constructed bee hives for the buzzzy bees ^.^,

while this one is a beautifully constructed bee hives that resides at a pool of gold flowers
[credit]

-the significance of these two animals-
Both animal is seen to bring either benefit or harm to us. However, regardless of our feelings towards them, always remember that both are still the creation of Allah swt. Creations that are being created for its own purpose that some of us may understand, while some of us ignore. Agree? Let us compare.

As you can see, life of the flies looks like the life of us human being. Some of us live our life ignorantly and acquire bad knowledge and skills. Which in return, we tend to bring harm to other people around us, in the loci that is reachable for us.

If we to our life to the bees, in seeking to produce/share great honey for the benefit of human beings, we will find useful knowledge, skills and understanding. All of which can be contributed back towards the other human being that we can reach/interacted with. Whether they are our family, acquaintance, or even strangers.

So, which one do you prefer? A life that bring great destruction and harm to others? Or the life that bring great help and goodness to others? You decide ^.^,

Thursday, March 1, 2012

SubhanAllah, this talk by Akh Nouman Ali Khan is absolutely amazing!
Although the audience is targeted towards parents, but as a child to a lovely parents of mine, I could see the reason behind most of the things that they did, and how they nurture and bring us siblings up. It is a blessing from Allah swt... however, it doesn't mean that if you are not being brought up by an ideal parent that you dream of, learn from your parent's mistake, and be a better parent for you future child ^.^, Just like how Prophet Ya'kub towards his son Prophet Yusuf ^.^,

Friday, February 24, 2012

Reading Quran everyday, is a heart cleansing activities, that could bring us closer towards Allah swt. Reciting every letters of every versus is just a joyful activity that make us understand more and more what life is all about; what do we need to believe in, what do we need to do while we are still alive, why Allah has created this, and that, what has Allah swt has in store for those who do good deeds and bad deeds? etc. Its a letter from Allah swt, and it is also our life dictionary, our life map, and our life savior.

Thus, today, I would like to share a note on Surah Al-Ikhlas for all the readers, and may this note help us to understand more of Allah swt words and message to us. insyAllah...
This may not be the best note (my Malay is tunggang langgang and spelling mistakes >.<), thus, for further explanations, please ask your respective naqib/naqibah/mummy usrah/murabbi etc. Or you can also make further reading on Tafsir Fi-Zilalil Quran (Syed Qutb), Tafsir Ibn Kathir etc ^.^,

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Alhamdulilllah, Allah swt still gave us a chance to live. An opportunity to read, an opportunity to be in front of the laptops/iPad/whatever device that you use to read this article and an opportunity to breathe in tonnes of fresh air for free. SubhanAllah...

This time, I would like to share a little bit on what I've read from the latest issue of GenQ magazine. For this edition, family theme was being brought up, and all of the related article in it was being written amazingly well. All of which make the reader ponder back on how our relationship with our parents are.

When we are so busy with our schedule, school, classes, exams, and Everest high pile of jobs (and D&T ^.^), we often forgot that as the time passes by, it actually brought us closer and closer towards our death. We are getting older and older day by day, and maybe if Allah swt permits, we might see ourselves with grey hair, back pain, arthritis, dozens of wrinkles and many other signs of old age.

Then imagine how our parents have gone through these phases of old age development. And imagine how they have waited for our existence in this world. How they have prepared it so well, to ensure that we have a good life ahead of us (well since I saw my brother and sister-in-law did it, I've got to say, it was quite a handful to handle ^.^,). And as we developed to adolescent, they have to deal with our behaviour, tantrums and ups and down, in the process of finding our own identity. And it doesn't stop there, as we grow older together with them, they've provide us with a handful of advice, guidance and ideas. All of which are being done with lots of love of a parent towards their child - all because of Allah swt.

They did all of these to make us much closer towards Allah swt, for us to become a better 'abid in front of Allah swt, and a better human being. To make us become one of those human being yang mentauhidkan Allah swt, and prostrate towards Allah swt as a humble slave in this world. No matter how they didik each and every one of us, I believe, those are their style of bringing up their child to be the best in this world and the hereafter. Isn't it? (^.^,) InsyAllah one day, when we have one of our own (yg comel2 dan soleh2 ^.^), I believe we will understand this better.

So, how was that? Al-Quran and Hadith have shown us great methods on what we should do towards our parents. Our parents have poured us with non-stop love and care that are priceless to pay back. And it is not possible to pay back! Imagine the amount of hard work that our dad need to perform to let us eat a spoon of rice. And imagine how much effort and pain that were required to feed us inside our mother's womb. Can we count it one by one? And if we are in our twenties, how much food have we gulped down for the past years? hehe...uncountable isn't it? That's only part of the love that our parents has provided us with. And remember that those love originate from Yang Maha Mencintai dan Yang Maha Mengasihi. SubhanAllah...that's how Allah swt has tarbiyyah us, in becoming a better 'abid in this world and the here after. It doesn't hurt to show our thankful towards Allah swt by saying, Alhamdulillah...

SubhanAllah, may Allah swt always showers us with His barakah for us, our parents, our entire family (and if Allah's will, future parents and family), and friends. InsyAllah..
So, before we die, make sure that we do all the things that we could to become a better son or daughter to both of our parents. Mesti Ikhlas dan tekad tau! ^.^,

For the last few days, there were ups and downs. Mostly because of the hustle and problems that arises at random moments. It took awhile to digest it all down, and understand the situation better. However, it does make the heart crunched up like a paper being crumpled into a ball, and the eyes felt like they could popped out of its socket.

In the process, before making any reaction that I might regret in the future, I tried to find the best solution on how to deal with it. Any possible choices that I could make, without making any destruction either to my iman and others, my feelings and others, and most importantly how I could turn the situation to become a chance that I could be closer towards Allah swt. To be honest, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. In fact, along the way, with many that gave particularly 'useful' advice. I could trip over and hit my iman hard! Whether or not I was able to pass this test successfully, only Allah swt knows.

However, during my research, I stumbled upon this particular piece of article that gave a sudden gust of positive wave, and carve a smile across the face.

"A trial on top of another trial does not mean Allah swt is there without mercy, nor without consideration towards His 'abid, however, Allah swt gives the trial with a purpose. Allah swt knows each of His 'abid's capability in overcoming those trial. He will never set any trial that is unbearable for His 'abid. That is why for every trials received, make it as a chance and opportunity that Allah swt has given to us to increase our good deeds. Receive those trials with sincere heart, face it patiently and always be positive! That's how we should do it! Allah swt has given us many trial, as a matter of fact, it is a trial on top of another trial. But remember, Allah swt also given us the solutions to those trial. There will always be a road that Allah swt will show to us and ease our way through it. InsyAllah!"

And no matter how big, humongous, massive and gigantic a trial that Allah swt has given to us, remember that Allah swt has also given us numerous and abundant of nikmat in this dunia, and not forgetting in the akhirat too! ^.^